In the middle of efforts to create new rules for cryptocurrency in America, former President Donald Trump’s family business has become an unexpected roadblock. The Trump family launched World Liberty Financial during the 2024 presidential race, and the company recently filed paperwork to become a trust bank. What seemed like a straightforward business venture has turned into a political headache that is dividing Republicans and Democrats over crypto regulation.
Trump’s family crypto venture has evolved from a simple business deal into a major obstacle for bipartisan regulatory reform.
The controversy centers on a massive deal with investors from the United Arab Emirates. An Abu Dhabi-backed company paid $500 million for nearly half of World Liberty Financial just days before Trump’s inauguration. Of that money, $187 million flowed directly to Trump-affiliated entities, while another $31 million went to co-founder Steve Witkoff, who now serves as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. The Trump family owns tokens in the company worth $3.8 billion and has extracted at least $890 million from operations. Many crypto proponents recommend using cold wallets for long-term storage to reduce security risks.
Democrats are demanding ethics rules in any new crypto legislation. Senator Cory Booker called the situation a “moral urgency,” while Representative Ro Khanna sent a letter with sixteen questions about how revenue gets distributed. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington notes the scale of potential conflicts exceeds Trump’s first term, though suing over crypto holdings presents unique challenges.
Republicans mostly dismiss these concerns. Senator Cynthia Lummis views criticism of the Abu Dhabi deal as a baseless attack, questioning why Trump should be separated from his children’s financial decisions. Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott emphasizes supporting crypto innovation and competition instead.
This split is stalling bipartisan cryptocurrency legislation on Capitol Hill. Republicans indicate willingness to include ethics provisions to gain Democratic support, but investigations into Trump’s crypto ventures complicate progress. The White House maintains Trump has no involvement in these business deals and acts only in the American public interest. Senate Democrats held a closed-door meeting on digital asset market structure legislation, the first since the Agriculture Committee advanced the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act.
Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial insists it is not a political organization and Trump has no current role. Yet the connections are hard to ignore, especially given Trump’s pardon of Binance founder C.Z. Zhao months after the UAE dealings concluded. The trust bank’s stated purpose is managing the USD1 stablecoin, which has grown to become the fifth-largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of $5 billion.
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